We live in a world surrounded by hundreds of thousands of inspiring women who change the world every day. The following ten women have dedicated their lives to doing good and making a difference.
1. Amal Alamuddin Clooney
Ever since Amal and George Clooney wed in Sept. 2014, Amal has captured the heart of America with her beauty, sense of fashion, and humanitarian work. The Lebanese-British beauty graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts and received her Master of Laws at New York University. Clooney is currently a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specializing in international law, criminal law, human rights, and extradition. At the Jan. 2015 Golden Globes, host Tina Fey joked, “George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an advisor to Kofi Annan regarding Syria and was selected for a three person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”
2. Amy Poehler
America’s Comedy Sweetheart, and half of the legendary Poehler/Fey duo, has played unforgettable roles in SNL, Baby Mama, Mean Girls, and of course, Parks and Recreation. Her inspiring role as government employee Leslie Knope created t-shirts, stickers, and coffee mugs with the saying, “Be the Leslie Knope of Whatever You Do.” Outside of acting, Poehler is also an avid humanitarian and serves as Ambassador for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. Poehler, along with producer Meredith Walker, founded Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, an organization dedicated to “helping young people cultivate their authentic selves. We emphasize intelligence and imagination over ‘fitting in.’ . . . We are a place where people can truly be their weird and wonderful selves.” In her book Yes Please, the author/actress/humanitarian and mother of two, said, “Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that - that’s what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that’s really special and if you’re not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself.”
3. Emma Watson
Our favorite witch is all grown up, and Emma Watson has exceeded her iconic role as Hermione Granger. Besides her work in the Harry Potter series, Watson has starred in The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Bling Ring, Noah, This is the End, and My Week with Marilyn, but arguably, her most important role is as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. Watson was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 and has since helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe. HeForShe is a “solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all.” On gender inequality, Watson said, “There's a lack of a sense of urgency around this issue. We're not really understanding what a huge impact this has all over the world. It's one of the biggest contributors to poverty, to violence, to discrimination. It hinders development and progress all over the world.”
4. Joanne “J.K.” Rowling
Creating the remarkable world of Harry Potter might be enough for some people, but for J.K. Rowling, that was just the beginning. Apart from the seven-book series, Rowling has also written The Casual Vacancy, The Cuckoo’s Calling, and The Silkworm penned under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Rowling has also been the recipient of numerous awards including the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France’s Légion d’Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. Along with Baroness Emma Nicholson, Rowling co-founded the Children’s High Level Group (CHLG) in 2005, which changed its name to Lumos in 2010. Lumos works to “end the systematic institutionalisation of children across Europe and help them find safer, more caring places to live.” About failure, Rowling said, “Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.”
5. Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox is the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted TV show. The Orange is the New Black star is expanding her television presence, as well as advocating for trans people across the globe. Her documentary Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, which explores lives of seven transgender youth across the country, was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Cox is a renowned speaker with a powerful message to move beyond gender expectations and live more authentically, and her work has earned her the Dorian Rising Star Award, Courage Award from the Anti-Violence Project, The Community Leader Award from the LGBT Center of New York City, and one of Glamour magazine’s 2014 Women of the Year. While advocating for transgender rights, Cox said, “Each and every one of us has the capacity to be an oppressor. I want to encourage each and every one of us to interrogate how we might be an oppressor, and how we might be able to become liberators for ourselves and each other.”
6. Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai is an 18-year-old Pakistani activist fighting for female education across the globe. The Taliban issued a death threat against Yousafzai due to her outspoken activism and on Oct. 9, 2012, on her way home from school, a man boarded her bus and shot Malala in the left side of her head. Malala was in critical condition, and after several surgeries to reverse the bullet damage, she suffered no major brain damage. In 2011, Yousafzai was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize, and was awarded Pakistan's National Youth Peace Prize. Her autobiography, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, was released in 2013, which earned her a Nobel Prize, making her the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. In an address to the U.N. on her 16th birthday, Yousafzai said, “I speak not for myself but for those without voice... those who have fought for their rights... their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated.”
7. Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi is the only woman to have served at the House Speaker, and is the currently the highest-ranking female politician in American history. Pelosi served as the Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011, and in 2013, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Pelosi is currently the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 114th Congress. Pelosi has focused on creating jobs in America, nationwide healthcare, human rights, and the environment. In 2010, Pelosi led Congress in passing legislation regarding child nutrition and food safety, as well as repealing the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Concerning women in politics, Pelosi said, “I really want women to know their power, to value their experience. To understand that nothing has been more wholesome in the political process than the increased involvement of women.”
8. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
At 82 years old, the 2nd female Supreme Court Justice is as inspiring as ever. In recent years, Ginsburg has become a liberal hero and feminist icon by supporting and speaking on reproductive rights, women’s equality, same-sex marriage, and other issues. In her time as a lawyer, RBG advocated for women’s rights and volunteered as an ACLU lawyer. Ginsburg has served as a Supreme Court Justice for 22 years, and her biography Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, written by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, will be released on Oct. 27. In a recent interview, Ginsburg said, “And when I’m sometimes asked when there will be enough [women on the supreme court]? And I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”
9. Tina Fey
Tina Fey, the other half of the Poehler/Fey duo, is equally as inspiring and hilarious as her counterpart. The SNL, 30 Rock, and Baby Mama star has received eight Emmy awards, two Golden Globe Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. Fey has also been nominated for a Grammy Award for her 2011 autobiographical book Bossypants, which topped The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks in a row. In 2010, Fey became the youngest-ever recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Fey also avidly participates in charities such as Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research, Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization that campaigns to end world hunger, and Love Our Children USA, which fights violence against children. In 2009, the Love Our Children USA organization named Fey among their Mothers Who Make a Difference. On being yourself, Fey said, “Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions. Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.”
10. Uzo Aduba
Uzo Aduba is best-known for her hilarious and emotional role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on the Netflix original Orange is the New Black. Aduba has debuted in film, television, and theater in various roles; Uzo has recently been cast as Glinda the Good Witch in NBC’s The Wiz Live! alongside Glee’s Amber Riley, Queen Latifah, and Mary J. Blige. At last month’s Emmys, Aduba won the award for best supporting actress in a drama series. A year before, Aduba won the award for best guest actress in a comedy series for the same role; she is the only actress to have accomplished this. In an interview with EW, Uzo said she considered quitting the day she landed the role in OITNB. She was considering going to law school just 45 minutes before she received the call that changed her life. Uzo recently said, “I’m realizing, you don’t need to change anything about yourself. This is who you are, and that’s okay. That’s daring.”